Murray rolls over hapless Haase

In his only previous grand-slam encounter with Robin Haase, Murray had taken the most circuitous route possible to victory. On Rod Laver Arena this afternoon, though, the Scot rolled over the Dutchman in little over 90 minutes, sealing a spot in round two of the Australian Open with a 6-3 6-1 6-3 victory.

Murray is looking to become the first man in the Open era to win his second major in the slam that immediately follows the first. That task was given impetus with two early breaks of serve amid the kind of searing backcourt play that can make grown opponents chew off their own racket arms.

Although an over-adventurous drop shot handed back a break, the number three seed rarely looked troubled, even as he staved off five break points to clinch the first set.

As Murray sent Haase from corner to corner in the second set, the look in the Dutchman’s eyes seemed to be saying ‘I didn’t sign up for anything like this’. The Scot wrapped up the set in just 23 minutes.

After Murray broke immediately in the third set, a minor lapse saw Haase break back, but the Scot broke again for the eighth time to seal the deal.

"I started the year well in Brisbane, but obviously coming into the Slams, the first match is normally pretty tough," said the Scot.

"There's nerves in the build-up. You've just got to try and focus and play solid, not make too many silly mistakes. I did a good job of that today. It's always nice to get through the first round of a tournament, but especially here."

Enjoyed the report Nigel and hope I'll be able to watch the eurosport highlights, which I recorded, once I'm home again later this week. It was good to wake up to the news and that it sounded easy peasy -so different from their previous encounter as you say.Sounds like the heat might be Andy's main opponent on Thursday - they were talking about 40 on the radio

Andy was fantastic, I thought it was worth staying awake for. Sure, there are some things he can improve, but that is how it should be really. It was just brilliant to see him looking pretty cool and calm on the whole, and playing efficient tennis. He went out there and got the job done quickly. Just what the doctor ordered.

Great report Nigel thanks.Good win for Andy he played really well I thought. His concentration was good for most of the match.Looking forward to his next match expecting a win for him, must say that I think he will win that match in three

Watched the match live as I rarely go to bed much before 2 am on a normal working day. Believe that Haase's two break games were due to Andy's slight loss of concentration, probably because he (Andy) was bored.